Look, I love this team. But, the best thing Cavalli can do here is come out and say sorry and plead the case of ignorance.
A lot of these guys are frankly not educated—not graduating high school, or graduating in name only. I don’t think Cavalli meant anything by calling him “boy” other than maybe some competitive disrespect. But, come on, there’s no denying the implications of it from an Oklahoma guy. I’m sure it’s just from picking it up where he grew up, but best to just say sorry and hope everyone moves on.
I'm withholding judgment until the entire story is shared (if that is at all possible). There were other Nats players on the field who heard what was said. The clubhouse has a way of policing itself. This is where vets like Max and Zimmerman would step in and call out players when appropriate. With such a young club, who assumes those leadership roles?
Going to be tough, the Athletic is reporting that Contreras apologised to Mikolas after the home run celebration, explaining it was emotional after the earthquake in Venezuela, so would be strange to believe there’s bad blood regardless
I may not be the biggest Mikolas fan on the mound, but in the chaos - he definitely showed old school veteran leadership. I had missed the part of the game and just saw what happened.
Mikolas used to be Contreras’ teammate. Think he was trying to calm him down, and another Sox member thought he was escalating, leading to an entirely separate shoving match.
I think he still is a respectful guy, just got caught up in the competitor mindset and defaulted to a habit that I can understand he maybe doesn’t have the whole history behind. Butera to be frank looked pissed. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a public apology soon.
Cavalli doesn't have to plead for anything. It was competitive fire, no worse than Contreras himself last night. It's stupid that Boston fans are trying to read racism into anything just because the kid's from Oklahoma. It's doubly stupid to see it here, among people who have watched every second of his big league career and never have seen any indication of anything bigoted.
I am guessing many of us on here played sports when we were younger- when the adrenaline is high, emotions are going to take off. Just going to happen.
From inside Fenway what I saw was two teams caught in the moment. I saw nothing in the way Cade behaved that would lead me to believe there was anything other than competitive fire. Love the way the team got right back to the business of winning once it was over. This group plays like a team! Looking forward to the rubber match tomorrow. “Why not us!”
I think the Cade Cavalli we were hoping to see finally arrived tonight. Now he’s showing he really can be a No. 1 starter.
Seven innings, one hit, 13 strikeouts, and retiring the final 19 batters at Fenway is dominant stuff. What impressed me most is that he wasn’t just throwing hard he was pitching. When he got ahead with two strikes, he kept tempting the aggressive Red Sox hitters with pitches just out of the zone, and they couldn’t lay off. The brawl will get the attention, but Cavalli’s dominance is the real story.
As impressive as Cavalli was as a pitcher tonight, I’m very disappointed in how he behaved as a person. There is no excuse for using the word “boy” like that, ever. I hope he—and the team—own it and apologize. Unacceptable.
Again, we don't know the full story. I'm withholding judgment until we find out more. As I posted earlier, other Nats players heard what was said. If there was truly an issue with Cade's comments, they should call him out for it.
Yeah…that word is racially loaded. I don’t think he meant any harm by it, but he still needs to be mindful. If I were Contreras that word would have set me off too.
I may or may not be looking forward to a Jomboy breakdown of what happened between Cavalli and Contreras. If Cavalli did indeed yell "Sit down, boy" directly at him, that's frankly inexcusable and merits a public apology to Contreras and to his teammates and to Nats fans. Maybe Cade is ignorant, but he's a pro now and ignorance is no excuse. It's a smear not just on him but also on the team. He may have just labeled himself as the villain for a large number of players across MLB.
As you are indicating, will see what happens or doesn’t on social media. Players on both teams can help put out any fires by how they respond. If there is bad blood - will be hard to hide it. If cooler heads prevail- this incident will fade. But what I don’t think will fade is how the Nats rallied together under adversity. That is not something you can plan for. It either happens or it doesn’t. They should be tighter for it now.
Nice win! I love Cavalli’s breezy athletic arrogance. Seemed like it galvanized the entire team tonight. Time to go for the series win tomorrow.
Also…Ruiz redeemed himself for running into that out at third base. But he’s sooooo slooooow. He should never be trying to stretch a single into a double.
Squatting behind the plate for hours and days at a time will do that to you. That's what made Benito Santiago a unicorn. He caught and could run. Go figure.
Zuckerman asked Butera in postgame presser specifically what Cade said. Butera didn't share the specific quote, just referenced how competitive and fired up Cade was.
Alexa Datt just commented and said MLB will review the incident. They have all the audio and video, obviously. She also pointed out that Mikolas defended Cade despite Contreras being a former battery mate, teammate, and friend in St. Louis.
Mikolas was amazing! His gutsy 7 innings yesterday and his selfless leadership today speak to his value as a veteran presence. Love the fire and focus of this team!
Again, many are so quick to judge and jump to conclusions. There were other Nats on the field within listening distance. If there truly is an issue with Cade's comments, I would expect the clubhouse to handle it. Vets like Mikolas and Littell should step forward and call out Cade if it is warranted. I also would expect such clubhouse activities would be kept in house. In other words, we would likely not hear about it.
Very nice win, with all the stars shining.
Look, I love this team. But, the best thing Cavalli can do here is come out and say sorry and plead the case of ignorance.
A lot of these guys are frankly not educated—not graduating high school, or graduating in name only. I don’t think Cavalli meant anything by calling him “boy” other than maybe some competitive disrespect. But, come on, there’s no denying the implications of it from an Oklahoma guy. I’m sure it’s just from picking it up where he grew up, but best to just say sorry and hope everyone moves on.
The team rallied tonight. Sure looked and felt like an emotional jolt jumped started them to another level that has been missing.
I'm withholding judgment until the entire story is shared (if that is at all possible). There were other Nats players on the field who heard what was said. The clubhouse has a way of policing itself. This is where vets like Max and Zimmerman would step in and call out players when appropriate. With such a young club, who assumes those leadership roles?
Going to be tough, the Athletic is reporting that Contreras apologised to Mikolas after the home run celebration, explaining it was emotional after the earthquake in Venezuela, so would be strange to believe there’s bad blood regardless
I may not be the biggest Mikolas fan on the mound, but in the chaos - he definitely showed old school veteran leadership. I had missed the part of the game and just saw what happened.
Speaking of, Mikolas is one of the few vets in the clubhouse. If he had an issue with Cade, he didn't show it. He backed up his teammate.
Mikolas used to be Contreras’ teammate. Think he was trying to calm him down, and another Sox member thought he was escalating, leading to an entirely separate shoving match.
You said it before I had to. Thank you. 🙏🏾
We don’t really know these players from where we sit, but Cade has always come off
as respectful to others. In the post game he couldn’t have handled it better IMO.
I think he still is a respectful guy, just got caught up in the competitor mindset and defaulted to a habit that I can understand he maybe doesn’t have the whole history behind. Butera to be frank looked pissed. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a public apology soon.
Cavalli doesn't have to plead for anything. It was competitive fire, no worse than Contreras himself last night. It's stupid that Boston fans are trying to read racism into anything just because the kid's from Oklahoma. It's doubly stupid to see it here, among people who have watched every second of his big league career and never have seen any indication of anything bigoted.
Yes. People are so quick to judge. We were not on that field and we don't have the full context of what happened.
I am guessing many of us on here played sports when we were younger- when the adrenaline is high, emotions are going to take off. Just going to happen.
From inside Fenway what I saw was two teams caught in the moment. I saw nothing in the way Cade behaved that would lead me to believe there was anything other than competitive fire. Love the way the team got right back to the business of winning once it was over. This group plays like a team! Looking forward to the rubber match tomorrow. “Why not us!”
Did he call him "boy." That is not what I heard. I heard "Sit down fool." And Contreras is a fool.
Thanks for letting us know he did not say "boy."
To be fair, I am not certain what he said. I said I heard "fool" but I could be wrong. MLB.com report states he said "Sit down bro."
Thanks for trying to clarify it
See, and I initially thought he said "bro." But when I replayed it I wasn't so sure.
I don't know whether this is open to all but I posted a video at
https://x.com/edit_susan/status/2072116538006524212?s=46&t=3k7GcWtYd6UmwMTK6mfZJw
This fanbase is the absolute wettest of rags.
I was happy to see Cavalli didn't let the fight upset his game. An excellent start, and the bats woke up again.
And before that he didn’t let Mead’s error snowball into a big inning. Very mature outing.
I think the Cade Cavalli we were hoping to see finally arrived tonight. Now he’s showing he really can be a No. 1 starter.
Seven innings, one hit, 13 strikeouts, and retiring the final 19 batters at Fenway is dominant stuff. What impressed me most is that he wasn’t just throwing hard he was pitching. When he got ahead with two strikes, he kept tempting the aggressive Red Sox hitters with pitches just out of the zone, and they couldn’t lay off. The brawl will get the attention, but Cavalli’s dominance is the real story.
As impressive as Cavalli was as a pitcher tonight, I’m very disappointed in how he behaved as a person. There is no excuse for using the word “boy” like that, ever. I hope he—and the team—own it and apologize. Unacceptable.
Again, we don't know the full story. I'm withholding judgment until we find out more. As I posted earlier, other Nats players heard what was said. If there was truly an issue with Cade's comments, they should call him out for it.
Yeah…that word is racially loaded. I don’t think he meant any harm by it, but he still needs to be mindful. If I were Contreras that word would have set me off too.
So...
In the Times, Spencer reported "Sit down, boy."
In ESPN, it was "Sit down, bro."
Huge difference! I'd think Spencer wouldn't have printed it if it wasn't verified, but at the same time I'm hoping he did make that mistake.
Watch this and see what you think
https://x.com/edit_susan/status/2072116538006524212?s=46&t=3k7GcWtYd6UmwMTK6mfZJw
Whoever catches for the Nats tomorrow needs to be light on their feet. There is likely to be retribution (re: Contreras). Sad, but that's baseball.
Ugh. I was thinking about that too. That's where the umpiring crew needs to get in front of it and make sure it doesn't escalate tomorrow.
Alexa Datt just asked Cade what was said in postgame interview. Of course he didn't share what he specifically said.
I may or may not be looking forward to a Jomboy breakdown of what happened between Cavalli and Contreras. If Cavalli did indeed yell "Sit down, boy" directly at him, that's frankly inexcusable and merits a public apology to Contreras and to his teammates and to Nats fans. Maybe Cade is ignorant, but he's a pro now and ignorance is no excuse. It's a smear not just on him but also on the team. He may have just labeled himself as the villain for a large number of players across MLB.
As you are indicating, will see what happens or doesn’t on social media. Players on both teams can help put out any fires by how they respond. If there is bad blood - will be hard to hide it. If cooler heads prevail- this incident will fade. But what I don’t think will fade is how the Nats rallied together under adversity. That is not something you can plan for. It either happens or it doesn’t. They should be tighter for it now.
Nice win! I love Cavalli’s breezy athletic arrogance. Seemed like it galvanized the entire team tonight. Time to go for the series win tomorrow.
Also…Ruiz redeemed himself for running into that out at third base. But he’s sooooo slooooow. He should never be trying to stretch a single into a double.
Squatting behind the plate for hours and days at a time will do that to you. That's what made Benito Santiago a unicorn. He caught and could run. Go figure.
The Nats backup catcher can run too!
Millas? Sure can. I’ve always been impressed by how fast he is.
What’s left to say after tonight’s game? Bravo!
Thanks to Mark for asking the question about what Cade said to Blake Butera.
Zuckerman asked Butera in postgame presser specifically what Cade said. Butera didn't share the specific quote, just referenced how competitive and fired up Cade was.
Alexa Datt just commented and said MLB will review the incident. They have all the audio and video, obviously. She also pointed out that Mikolas defended Cade despite Contreras being a former battery mate, teammate, and friend in St. Louis.
Mikolas was amazing! His gutsy 7 innings yesterday and his selfless leadership today speak to his value as a veteran presence. Love the fire and focus of this team!
Today he really stepped forward when needed. Not everyone can or will do so in that type of environment.
After listening to that interview not sure I’d want to mess with Mikolas. Ya know?
Right?! He's a bad man. Who knew? Good teammate, too.
Again, many are so quick to judge and jump to conclusions. There were other Nats on the field within listening distance. If there truly is an issue with Cade's comments, I would expect the clubhouse to handle it. Vets like Mikolas and Littell should step forward and call out Cade if it is warranted. I also would expect such clubhouse activities would be kept in house. In other words, we would likely not hear about it.
I really liked the way the Nats rallied!!